[Tweeters] Peaceful coexistence among Annas

[Dennis Paulson via Tweeters]

Jon and Diane,

I suspect it is because there is no further point in defending a food source when it is almost dark, and you won’t be feeding there again on this day. Flowers make new nectar during the night, so probably that’s why they are so programmed to relax aggression at that time. And hummingbird feeders almost always have nectar in them the next morning.

We have seen this many times at our feeders toward the end of the day.

Dennis Paulson
Seattle


> On Dec 29, 2025, at 2:39 PM, Cooper PhD, Jonathan A via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

> 

> Hi Tweeters - Our hummingbird feeder is normally the scene of hot disputes, with a competitive male wasting no time to chase off other visitors. The other evening, in the half light, we were surprised to see not one but three, then four, Annas perched around the rim, one at each of the drinking holes. They took it in turns for one to drink while the other three watched, bills up. This went on for several minutes until it got too dark for us to see. Why such peaceful co-existence? 

> Jon Cooper and Diane Doles

> Madrona

> jcooper at fredhutch.org <mailto:jcooper at fredhutch.org>

> 

> 

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